US President Donald Trump has called on Israel and the Shiite movement Hezbollah to cease hostilities so as not to hinder the possible signing of a memorandum between the US and Iran.
„There should be no further attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no further attacks by any other country, including Hezbollah, against Israel. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace – "Let's not miss this opportunity," he wrote on Truth Social.
“We are very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including Lebanon, and all parties must exercise restraint“, the US head of state added.
Israeli forces should not have attacked the Lebanese capital before the signing of the US-Iran agreement, Trump said.
“The attack on Beirut this morning should not have happened, especially on a special day when we are so close to a peace agreement with Iran“, the US leader wrote.
Trump added that the Israeli attack was small and “no one was injured or killed“.
Iran will be able to immediately start exporting oil after signing the agreement with the United States, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview with CBS News.
“Immediately. That's what the president said“, he said in response to a question about whether Iran would be able to start trading oil the day after the agreement is signed and the blockade is lifted.
According to Hegseth, the US military is capable of clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days under the right conditions.
“We can do all of this within 30 days under the right conditions“, he said in response to a question on the subject.
The US administration believes that the latest Israeli strikes on Beirut will not violate the US-Iran agreement, Hegseth said.
“As far as I know, we are moving in the right direction. "It's not a question of if, it's a question of when," he said when asked if further Israeli strikes could derail the deal.
US administration officials are confident that the signing of the Iran deal will take place on June 14, said Mike Walz, the US permanent representative to the UN.
"I'm confident, the team is confident," he told ABC News when asked about the deal. "Trump and Vance intend to do it today."
Walz also added that the United States does not intend to provide any cash tranches in advance and that on the issue of "freeing assets or easing sanctions" a "pay-as-you-go" approach will be applied.
On June 13, President Trump said that Washington and Tehran should finalize the deal by June 14, which would fully unblock the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that a peace agreement between the United States and Iran was likely to be finalized within the next 24 hours, after which the parties would hold technical-level talks.